Cyclic Realm - native races and myth/lore
Apr. 5th, 2011 01:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windhoverI'm not sure what (if anything) I'm going to use this for, but here it is anyway—another infopost detailing some aspects of another one of my OUs.
Peoples of the Cyclic Realm
⇁ t’larati: The most prolific of the Cyclic Realm’s few native races, though the wide spread of human settlement has vastly reduced their numbers outside of their home region of T’laruz. The first human migrants to the Cyclic Realm called them “beastmen” for their physically inhuman characteristics, and later “Delaroussians” as a corruption of the name of their homeland. Despite these and other tensions, however, relations between the t’larati and humans have been relatively peaceful; while many t’larati have successfully mixed in with human culture, however, the inverse is far from true.
⇁ caelesti: An ancient race created alongside the t’larati to serve a similar purpose, but are now all but extinct. The name caelesti (as well as coronae and cassidae) is derived from human language, for the name they were given at their creation has long been forgotten, even by those few surviving coronae of the Exile. They were heavenly creatures of great sorcerous power, intended to strike a balance with the physically-oriented earthly t’larati, but their power came to be too great and gave rise to their arrogance and folly. The Destroyer punished them by halving their power, essentially splitting each caelesti into two separate entities—the coronae, remnants of their sorcerous power, and cassidae, remnants of their physical strength—and banished the coronae to the Icy Crown and cassidae to a distant world.
✩ N.B. The cassidae wound up being banished to the world of Anaaius, and despite having lost all memory of their caelesti selves, founded a society there that thrived for many centuries, under the guidance of their “great god Lysander.” By now, however, those cassidae—who came to be known in Anaaius as “Sages”—are also largely extinct, between the “Black Scion” sacrifice and the corona Nox’s rampage. The coronae, on the other hand, have all vanished completely from the Cyclic Realm, most notable among them the coronae of Nox and Diem. Exactly what has become of them is unclear, but judging by the history of the “world of Scions,” it is believed that they migrated to that world en masse and allowed their tenuous selves to reincarnate there.
⇁ arrabai: Although the demons that gave rise to this race are far from native to the Cyclic Realm, the arrabai people exist in no other world, and so they are considered natives. Due to their origins as a mixed demonic race, they are looked upon dubiously by other societies of the Cyclic Realm, and so have remained isolated in the land of Kardal; the harshness of this barren desert region has also ensured that the arrabai hold sole domain over this land. They tend to be nomadic and tribal in nature, forgoing any attempt at agriculture in favor of hunting and gathering and spurning any form of large-scale alliance, government, or organization. Rather than worshipping either of the Cyclic Realm’s most recognized deities, each separate tribe has their own patron goddess which guides their actions. However, should a tribe die out or become conquered by another, this ensures that their goddess is forgotten and abandoned entirely, a result becoming more and more common with human societies’ stepped-up efforts to settle Kardal and take it for themselves.
Myth of the Cyclic Realm
⇁ Creation. In T’laro tradition, the world of the Cyclic Realm and its people were created by the goddess Dhyeti. The t’larati were ordained to govern the earth, and those now known as caelesti, “the Celestial Ones,” were ordained to govern the sky; between them, the world was to prosper and flourish into paradise. However, the power gained by the caelesti was far too great, and they came to disdain the world below and the earth-bound t’larati who dwelt upon its surface. They retreated further and further into the clouds and built their own society high in the sky, even going so far as to call themselves gods and turn their worship away from the mother Dhyeti. Without their cooperation and governance, the land below grew barren and the t’larati suffered for countless ages.
⇁ Exile. The appointed rulers of the caelesti—Nox, throne of night, and Diem, throne of day—fell into conflict, and their utopian sky city was plagued by civil war. In response, the great god Szazl, guided by the whispering bow-lion, descended upon the world to exact divine judgment for their frivolities and neglect of their ordained duty. The sky city was brought to ruin, its only remnants forming the barren Icy Crown that remains to this day. The caelesti were punished by being stripped of their heavenly power and banished between the Icy Crown and another world entirely, far from the Cyclic Realm. Because of this act, the world flourished once more, and while it was far from becoming a paradise, the t’larati were once again free to work towards it.
⇁ Dhyeti, the Creator, mother of the world and all its people, from the native t’larati to the foreign humans and forsaken caelesti. She is also identified as a goddess of fate and fortune, having seen the weave of destiny and knowing the turns of all its threads, and is said to reside on a plane of existence that allows her to see the whole of her world and all its facets at once. However, she is also burdened with the knowledge that her sight can never be truly perfect, for the weave of fate can always be altered into infinite possibilities.
Although she is the primary figure of worship in T’laruz, the t’larati do not see themselves as having been made in her image. She has always been depicted with an appearance far closer to human, even long before humans migrated to the Cyclic Realm, and this is why the t’larati were at one time so welcoming of them. Despite this, however, as well as her maternal identity, she is said to have a fierce, truly beastlike nature when her temper is roused, and is capable of becoming as great and powerful a destroyer as Szazl.
⇁ Szazl, the Destroyer, savior of the world from the whims of the caelesti and bearer of the great sword that cleft them in twain. Also known as Azazel, or often simply “the Destroyer,” he is widely viewed as a deity of greater power than Dhyeti. Despite his being an outsider to the Cyclic Realm, worship of him is far more prevalent throughout the world—particularly in human societies, whose early migrant ancestors found it easier to identify with and worship a male god similar to that of their home world than the mother goddess of this one.
There are far fewer depictions of him than Dhyeti, and almost all depict his sword rather than Szazl himself, being the tool he used to end the caelesti’s cruel reign; even his most common image of worship is his sword, as many human settlements and cities have some manner of “swordstone” present within their boundaries. To the t’larati, he is seen as an equal ally and occasional consort to Dhyeti, summoned at her beck and call to act directly where she cannot, and it is said that even the end of the world may well come at her command and his sword. Because of this, the two are commonly depicted in t’larati artwork with opposing motifs: the black and gold Dhyeti and her earthly, beastlike form, and the white and red Szazl and his heavenly, winged visage.
⇁ The bow-lion, minion of the Destroyer, granter of wishes and fixer of fate. He is the one said to have witnessed the world’s plight and urged Szazl to take action, though he is hardly viewed as a wholly benevolent figure. More often, despite his implied servitude to the Destroyer, he is considered an adversary of Dhyeti, with her domain over fate and his power to change it. After all, the bow-lion is the sole entity in all of creation to hold that power, and he does so by way of granting wishes to those willing to pay a certain price. Though not inherently evil, he is generally regarded by human culture as a wily, self-interested figure whose temptations are to be resisted, and by t’larati as an equally wily figure who seeks to toy with the workings of fate.
He is called “the bow-lion” for his most common depictions: either wielding a great, celestial bow, or as a winged lion wreathed in flame. However, his most famous depiction by far is a relatively recent product of human culture, a lengthy poem called Lay of the Celestial One. In it, the bow-lion is portrayed in a far more sympathetic light, appearing before the author and giving an account of the Exile that is vastly different from what has been commonly accepted as true. The Lay was discredited at the time of its publication due to several counts of controversy against it, chief among them its suggestion that the Destroyer was duped by the figure “Lysander” into punishing the caelesti, its sexual overtones and graphic depictions of the caelesti’s actions, and the mere fact that it was written by a woman (who, no less, claimed the account of actually seeing and speaking with the bow-lion to be completely true). In the centuries since, however, it has been regarded as a fascinating piece of literature, and continues to be studied by scholars for its groundbreaking ideas and unflinching look at the hellish “old world.”
Peoples of the Cyclic Realm
⇁ t’larati: The most prolific of the Cyclic Realm’s few native races, though the wide spread of human settlement has vastly reduced their numbers outside of their home region of T’laruz. The first human migrants to the Cyclic Realm called them “beastmen” for their physically inhuman characteristics, and later “Delaroussians” as a corruption of the name of their homeland. Despite these and other tensions, however, relations between the t’larati and humans have been relatively peaceful; while many t’larati have successfully mixed in with human culture, however, the inverse is far from true.
⇁ caelesti: An ancient race created alongside the t’larati to serve a similar purpose, but are now all but extinct. The name caelesti (as well as coronae and cassidae) is derived from human language, for the name they were given at their creation has long been forgotten, even by those few surviving coronae of the Exile. They were heavenly creatures of great sorcerous power, intended to strike a balance with the physically-oriented earthly t’larati, but their power came to be too great and gave rise to their arrogance and folly. The Destroyer punished them by halving their power, essentially splitting each caelesti into two separate entities—the coronae, remnants of their sorcerous power, and cassidae, remnants of their physical strength—and banished the coronae to the Icy Crown and cassidae to a distant world.
✩ N.B. The cassidae wound up being banished to the world of Anaaius, and despite having lost all memory of their caelesti selves, founded a society there that thrived for many centuries, under the guidance of their “great god Lysander.” By now, however, those cassidae—who came to be known in Anaaius as “Sages”—are also largely extinct, between the “Black Scion” sacrifice and the corona Nox’s rampage. The coronae, on the other hand, have all vanished completely from the Cyclic Realm, most notable among them the coronae of Nox and Diem. Exactly what has become of them is unclear, but judging by the history of the “world of Scions,” it is believed that they migrated to that world en masse and allowed their tenuous selves to reincarnate there.
⇁ arrabai: Although the demons that gave rise to this race are far from native to the Cyclic Realm, the arrabai people exist in no other world, and so they are considered natives. Due to their origins as a mixed demonic race, they are looked upon dubiously by other societies of the Cyclic Realm, and so have remained isolated in the land of Kardal; the harshness of this barren desert region has also ensured that the arrabai hold sole domain over this land. They tend to be nomadic and tribal in nature, forgoing any attempt at agriculture in favor of hunting and gathering and spurning any form of large-scale alliance, government, or organization. Rather than worshipping either of the Cyclic Realm’s most recognized deities, each separate tribe has their own patron goddess which guides their actions. However, should a tribe die out or become conquered by another, this ensures that their goddess is forgotten and abandoned entirely, a result becoming more and more common with human societies’ stepped-up efforts to settle Kardal and take it for themselves.
Myth of the Cyclic Realm
⇁ Creation. In T’laro tradition, the world of the Cyclic Realm and its people were created by the goddess Dhyeti. The t’larati were ordained to govern the earth, and those now known as caelesti, “the Celestial Ones,” were ordained to govern the sky; between them, the world was to prosper and flourish into paradise. However, the power gained by the caelesti was far too great, and they came to disdain the world below and the earth-bound t’larati who dwelt upon its surface. They retreated further and further into the clouds and built their own society high in the sky, even going so far as to call themselves gods and turn their worship away from the mother Dhyeti. Without their cooperation and governance, the land below grew barren and the t’larati suffered for countless ages.
⇁ Exile. The appointed rulers of the caelesti—Nox, throne of night, and Diem, throne of day—fell into conflict, and their utopian sky city was plagued by civil war. In response, the great god Szazl, guided by the whispering bow-lion, descended upon the world to exact divine judgment for their frivolities and neglect of their ordained duty. The sky city was brought to ruin, its only remnants forming the barren Icy Crown that remains to this day. The caelesti were punished by being stripped of their heavenly power and banished between the Icy Crown and another world entirely, far from the Cyclic Realm. Because of this act, the world flourished once more, and while it was far from becoming a paradise, the t’larati were once again free to work towards it.
⇁ Dhyeti, the Creator, mother of the world and all its people, from the native t’larati to the foreign humans and forsaken caelesti. She is also identified as a goddess of fate and fortune, having seen the weave of destiny and knowing the turns of all its threads, and is said to reside on a plane of existence that allows her to see the whole of her world and all its facets at once. However, she is also burdened with the knowledge that her sight can never be truly perfect, for the weave of fate can always be altered into infinite possibilities.
Although she is the primary figure of worship in T’laruz, the t’larati do not see themselves as having been made in her image. She has always been depicted with an appearance far closer to human, even long before humans migrated to the Cyclic Realm, and this is why the t’larati were at one time so welcoming of them. Despite this, however, as well as her maternal identity, she is said to have a fierce, truly beastlike nature when her temper is roused, and is capable of becoming as great and powerful a destroyer as Szazl.
⇁ Szazl, the Destroyer, savior of the world from the whims of the caelesti and bearer of the great sword that cleft them in twain. Also known as Azazel, or often simply “the Destroyer,” he is widely viewed as a deity of greater power than Dhyeti. Despite his being an outsider to the Cyclic Realm, worship of him is far more prevalent throughout the world—particularly in human societies, whose early migrant ancestors found it easier to identify with and worship a male god similar to that of their home world than the mother goddess of this one.
There are far fewer depictions of him than Dhyeti, and almost all depict his sword rather than Szazl himself, being the tool he used to end the caelesti’s cruel reign; even his most common image of worship is his sword, as many human settlements and cities have some manner of “swordstone” present within their boundaries. To the t’larati, he is seen as an equal ally and occasional consort to Dhyeti, summoned at her beck and call to act directly where she cannot, and it is said that even the end of the world may well come at her command and his sword. Because of this, the two are commonly depicted in t’larati artwork with opposing motifs: the black and gold Dhyeti and her earthly, beastlike form, and the white and red Szazl and his heavenly, winged visage.
⇁ The bow-lion, minion of the Destroyer, granter of wishes and fixer of fate. He is the one said to have witnessed the world’s plight and urged Szazl to take action, though he is hardly viewed as a wholly benevolent figure. More often, despite his implied servitude to the Destroyer, he is considered an adversary of Dhyeti, with her domain over fate and his power to change it. After all, the bow-lion is the sole entity in all of creation to hold that power, and he does so by way of granting wishes to those willing to pay a certain price. Though not inherently evil, he is generally regarded by human culture as a wily, self-interested figure whose temptations are to be resisted, and by t’larati as an equally wily figure who seeks to toy with the workings of fate.
He is called “the bow-lion” for his most common depictions: either wielding a great, celestial bow, or as a winged lion wreathed in flame. However, his most famous depiction by far is a relatively recent product of human culture, a lengthy poem called Lay of the Celestial One. In it, the bow-lion is portrayed in a far more sympathetic light, appearing before the author and giving an account of the Exile that is vastly different from what has been commonly accepted as true. The Lay was discredited at the time of its publication due to several counts of controversy against it, chief among them its suggestion that the Destroyer was duped by the figure “Lysander” into punishing the caelesti, its sexual overtones and graphic depictions of the caelesti’s actions, and the mere fact that it was written by a woman (who, no less, claimed the account of actually seeing and speaking with the bow-lion to be completely true). In the centuries since, however, it has been regarded as a fascinating piece of literature, and continues to be studied by scholars for its groundbreaking ideas and unflinching look at the hellish “old world.”
